Who is James Harris? Ten things you need to know about the rising star of English cricket

Already selected for the one-day matches against New Zealand, James Harris was today called up as cover for Stuart Meaker for the three Twenty20 games against the Black Caps. He’s young, quick and can bat. That has seen some tout him his as the ‘new Andrew Flintoff’ for years now. Now aged 22, he is starting to deliver on his promise, and will hopefully get the chance to show what he can do in an England shirt over the coming weeks.

1. Harris was the youngest person to appear for Glamorgan’s second XI when he played in 2005 at the age of 14 years and 353 days. A month later he was the youngest to appear for Wales Minor Counties, taking three for 48 against Holland.

2. In 2006 he signed a contract with Glamorgan despite being just 15. He made his frist-team debut aged just 16 and a few weeks later became the first 17-year-old to take a seven-wicket haul in the County Championship.

3. In 2007 he was Metro’s inaugural Cricketer of the Year – an award for England-qualified players who had yet to play Test cricket. That summer, during which he had to contend with the distraction of A-Levels, he claimed 33 wickets at 24.75 apiece in the Championship. He was also a finalist in the 2007 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award.

4. Back then he made no secret of his ambitions, telling Metro: ‘I’d love to be England captain. I’ve been a captain throughout junior cricket and captained England at Under-15s and really enjoyed that experience, so I’d love to be England captain one day.’

5. He was rewarded for his promising debut season with a trip to India as part of the England Performance Programme, and was in the England squad for the Under-19 World Cup in 2008.

6. In 2009 he received his first call-up to England Lions and that summer took 41 Championship wickets.

7. On 28 April 2010 he became the youngest Glamorgan player to take 100 first-class wickets for the county.

8. Harris’ early promise was checked by a serious groin injury in 2011 which later needed a double hernia operation and two injections into his groin. He returned to action in May 2012, playing for England Lions against Australia A later that summer.

9. His form earned him a place with the England Performance Programme in India this winter and was then called up to the full England squad for the T20 series.

10. Harris left his home county, Glamorgan, last September after turning down a ‘substantial offer’, signing a three-year deal with Division One Middlesex.